دوشنبه ۲۶ شهریور ۰۳ | ۱۸:۴۳ ۷ بازديد
Wages in most industries rose during the war years. For example, hourly
wages for blue-collar workers in the metal trades, shipbuilding, and meat-
packing rose by about 20 percent. However, rising food prices and housing
costs undercut household income.
By contrast, corporate profits soared. This was especially true in indus-
tries such as chemicals, meatpacking, oil, and steel. One industrial manu-
facturer, the DuPont Company, saw its stock multiply in value 1,600 percent
between 1914 and 1918. By that time, the company was earning $68 million
in profits each year.
Unions boomed during the war years. One cause was the difference in
pay between labor and management. Other causes were increasing work
hours, child labor, and dangerously “sped-up” conditions. Union member-
ship climbed from about 2.5 million in 1916 to more than 4 million in 1919.
More than 6,000 strikes broke out during the war months. To deal with
disputes between management and labor, President Wilson established
the National War Labor Board in 1918. Workers who refused to obey board
decisions could lose their draft exemptions. “Work or fight,” the board
told them. However, the board also worked to improve factory conditions.
It pushed for an eight-hour workday, promoted safety inspections, and
enforced the child labor ban.
OTHER AGENCIES The WIB was not the only federal agency to regulate the
economy during the war. The Railroad Administration controlled the rail-
roads. The Fuel Administration monitored coal supplies and rationed gaso-
line and heating oil. In addition, many people adopted “gasless Sundays”
and “lightless nights” to conserve fuel. In March 1918 the Fuel Administra-
tion introduced another conservation measure. This was daylight-saving
time, which had first been proposed by Benjamin Franklin in the 1770s as a
way to take advantage of the longer days of summer.
To help produce and conserve food, Wilson set up the Food Administra-
tion under Herbert Hoover. Instead of rationing f
wages for blue-collar workers in the metal trades, shipbuilding, and meat-
packing rose by about 20 percent. However, rising food prices and housing
costs undercut household income.
By contrast, corporate profits soared. This was especially true in indus-
tries such as chemicals, meatpacking, oil, and steel. One industrial manu-
facturer, the DuPont Company, saw its stock multiply in value 1,600 percent
between 1914 and 1918. By that time, the company was earning $68 million
in profits each year.
Unions boomed during the war years. One cause was the difference in
pay between labor and management. Other causes were increasing work
hours, child labor, and dangerously “sped-up” conditions. Union member-
ship climbed from about 2.5 million in 1916 to more than 4 million in 1919.
More than 6,000 strikes broke out during the war months. To deal with
disputes between management and labor, President Wilson established
the National War Labor Board in 1918. Workers who refused to obey board
decisions could lose their draft exemptions. “Work or fight,” the board
told them. However, the board also worked to improve factory conditions.
It pushed for an eight-hour workday, promoted safety inspections, and
enforced the child labor ban.
OTHER AGENCIES The WIB was not the only federal agency to regulate the
economy during the war. The Railroad Administration controlled the rail-
roads. The Fuel Administration monitored coal supplies and rationed gaso-
line and heating oil. In addition, many people adopted “gasless Sundays”
and “lightless nights” to conserve fuel. In March 1918 the Fuel Administra-
tion introduced another conservation measure. This was daylight-saving
time, which had first been proposed by Benjamin Franklin in the 1770s as a
way to take advantage of the longer days of summer.
To help produce and conserve food, Wilson set up the Food Administra-
tion under Herbert Hoover. Instead of rationing f
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